Bearers of glad tidings, your wedding invitations give your family and friends the first hint of what your celebrations will be like. And wedding invites these days have come a long way; from your Save the Dates all the way to your ceremony decor, you can now pretty up your whole wedding with a full wedding stationery suite of beautiful paper goods like patterned envelopes, illustrated menus, and escort cards emblazoned with your wedding logo in a wax seal. To help you select a wedding stationery suite that befits your happy occasion, we chat with nine beautiful paper goods designers in Singapore whose lovely work will bear your joyous smiles and heartfelt welcome in the mail.

1. THE PAPER BUNNY

Jaime: We enjoy seeing our clients happy, so definitely the part where we finalise a project and see a happy client is the best part of the process. That said, we also enjoy conceptualising and getting creative with the selected theme chosen by the couples, and putting their story into design.

2. Kalo Make Art

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Kalo: I gain design inspirations from various things, of which nature is an important aspect. I visit botanical gardens and zoos to draw regularly, and a lot of my In House designs are original artwork from these drawing trips. Important people that influence my artistic career include contemporary New York illustrator Yuko Shimizu, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, British children’s book illustrator Anthony Browne and the late Austrian painter Egon Schiele!

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS?

Kalo: Kalo Make Art is dedicated to provide Bespoke Wedding Invitation Design services, so most of our designs are created in response to a customer’s requirements. As the designer, the diversity of design styles among each project is the most enjoyable part of my job. Each wedding invitation design is completely different from one another. My projects range from an elegant watercolour map of Singapore to a sweet, cute couple in cartoon style for a wedding in Bali!

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE DESIGN TRENDS RIGHT NOW?

Kalo: Foil stamping used to be popular in the old days and this trend seems to be coming back. In the past, foil stamping did not have a huge range of colour options. Nowadays, there are a lot more yummy trendy colours to choose from, such as fushia, turquoise, lime, plum and charcoal! Couples can also choose to foil stamp the wedding invitation’s edges. I personally really love foil stamping as it gives a special touch and glamour to the overall invitation suite, and used purple foil stamp for my own barnyard wedding invitations.

4. The Fingersmith Letterpress

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?

Jackie: I am inspired by vintage tin cans and packaging with beautiful letterings and colour combinations that complement each other. I am also inspired by sign painting along shop fronts and buildings when I travel.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS?

Jackie: The “ping-pong” part when I throw out an idea to friends and they throw back their thoughts, shaping and moulding the initial idea further. Though some ideas do not materialise, I love it when they get really wild and sometimes ridiculous. It keeps the creative juices churning in the blender.

YOUR FAVOURITE DESIGN TRENDS RIGHT NOW?

Jackie: Often, clients come to us knowing that we specialise in hand-lettering and illustration. Though each wedding invitation design is personalised to the client, they all contain similar elements that we specialise in. I guess we have developed a certain style that people associate us with and that is what we would like to continue doing instead of keeping up with what is trending.

5. Pearlyn and Paper

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Pearlyn: Pretty weddings and dreamy love stories! I enjoy playing a small part in completing the mood of a wedding with customised stationery. Wedding invitations create the first impression – it gives your guests a hint of what to expect at the actual wedding party, and I love to get them all excited! I like finding the right balance, creating looks that are soft and romantic, yet not overly girly. I’m an avid fan of floral and fauna. Painting botanicals can be so therapeutic!

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS?

Pearlyn: Getting to know my clients is always a joy, sharing ideas and filtering a hundred and one concepts into one. And when it’s all done and my clients tell me how much they love it, the sense of happiness and satisfaction is truly priceless.

FAVOURITE DESIGN TREND RIGHT NOW?

Pearlyn: Undoubtedly, florals! It has always been popular, but I love to challenge myself with different interpretations. Many Singaporean couples are going for the rustic theme these days, and I too am in love with it. It really shifts the idea of the standard, traditional wedding invitation.

6. HelloAm

WHAT GETS YOUR CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING?

Daphne: My biggest source of inspiration is my family.
My little girl is the inspiration behind this creative business; just watching her display her creativity each day as she learns and grows, simply inspires me. It’s the most amazing experience.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS?

Daphne: Being a wedding invitation designer has a completely different set of expectations and satisfaction from the corporate world I came from. I find my deepest well of satisfaction coming from being able to contribute to a wedding, where I know I’m part of the process where a spiritual connection occurs.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE DESIGN TRENDS RIGHT NOW?

Daphne: I make it a point not to follow trends blindly, but it’s important to know what they are. If I need to follow a trend, I will infuse them with my personal creative style. At the moment, I’m leaning towards gold tones and scripted fonts.

7. PapyPress

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Corby: Over at PapyPress, we are inspired by the stories of our couples. Each couple, no matter how uneventful their lives may be, has a unique love story to tell. That’s the reason why we love illustrating these stories as it injects our stationery designs with a special personality that you won’t find in generic, non-bespoke stationery.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS?

Corby: The conceptualisation stage is always the most challenging but also the most enjoyable. Finding out the stories of our couples and their likes and dislikes allows us to know our client better!

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE DESIGN TRENDS?

Corby: We don’t exactly follow or have a favourite design trend. We believe that all great designs have to fulfil the key criteria of being timeless and classic – something that you won’t cringe at when looking at it on your 20th wedding anniversary. Of course, our specialty is in illustration and sketches, especially of landscape and buildings, and we believe that will always be something that’s on trend.

Services and goods: Custom design services for full wedding stationery suite from invitations to menusDesign styles: All types of design from graphic and watercolour to illustration and calligraphyPrint methods: Specialisation in letterpress, thermography print and foiling;digital and offset printingMinimum print quantity: N.A. Min. cost applicableLead time: 2 months for full bespoke servicesWebsite: www.papypress.comEmail:renee@papypress.com

8. Happy Hands Project

What inspires you?

Pauline: My creativity usually gets a boost by being around fellow creatives. There’s something inspiring about being able to exchange ideas with other artists and designers. Singapore has a lot of interesting spots as well, and taking a walk along its bustling streets is enough to fill my mind with quirky typography and artistic eye candy.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BIT IN THE DESIGN PROCESS?

Pauline: When everything is coming together – type, hand-painted elements, colour – that’s what I enjoy most. It’s like having a visual epiphany, when every piece of a certain design falls beautifully in place.

WHICH DESIGN TRENDS DO YOU LOVE RIGHT NOW?

Pauline: I’m very much drawn to anything rustic and vintage right now. I love art in its simplest form – organic and unaltered, and I’ve always been a lover of handmade goods. Modern calligraphy and muted tones are also one of my favourite design characteristics right now.

Services: Calligraphy and lettering for paper goods such as posters, wedding logos, invitation suitesDesign styles: Calligraphy, hand-lettering, hand-drawn illustrations and watercolour paintingLead time: Up to a month for calligraphy wedding logos; up to a few months for wedding invitation suite designsWebsite: happyhandsproject.comEmail:info@happyhandsproject.com

Grace: Getting to know each client and working together to create something that is tasteful yet personal – bringing the bride’s personality and mood across in the choice of colours, graphics, and fonts etc. The fact that every client is different makes it never a dull moment.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE DESIGN TRENDS RIGHT NOW?

Grace: The resurgence of letterpress. Minimalist design and pairing of unexpected materials and colours are always inspiring!